Nonstop flight route between Richland, Washington, United States and Pituffik, Greenland:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from RLD to THU:
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- About this route
- RLD Airport Information
- THU Airport Information
- Facts about RLD
- Facts about THU
- Map of Nearest Airports to RLD
- List of Nearest Airports to RLD
- Map of Furthest Airports from RLD
- List of Furthest Airports from RLD
- Map of Nearest Airports to THU
- List of Nearest Airports to THU
- Map of Furthest Airports from THU
- List of Furthest Airports from THU
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Richland Airport (RLD), Richland, Washington, United States and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,512 miles (or 4,043 kilometers).
A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between Richland Airport and Thule Air Base, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.
Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between Richland Airport and Thule Air Base. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | RLD / KRLD |
Airport Name: | Richland Airport |
Location: | Richland, Washington, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 46°18'20"N by 119°18'15"W |
Area Served: | Richland, Washington |
Operator/Owner: | Port of Benton |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 394 feet (120 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from RLD |
More Information: | RLD Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | THU / BGTL |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Pituffik, Greenland |
GPS Coordinates: | 76°31'51"N by 68°42'11"W |
View all routes: | Routes from THU |
More Information: | THU Maps & Info |
Facts about Richland Airport (RLD):
- Richland Airport (RLD) has 2 runways.
- The furthest airport from Richland Airport (RLD) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,783 miles (17,353 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- The closest airport to Richland Airport (RLD) is Tri-Cities Airport (PSC), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) ESE of RLD.
- For the 12-month period ending July 31, 2007, the airport had 29,000 general aviation aircraft operations, an average of 79 per day.
- Because of Richland Airport's relatively low elevation of 394 feet, planes can take off or land at Richland Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):
- Thule is the location where the fastest recorded sea level surface wind speed in the world was measured when a peak speed of 333 kilometres per hour was recorded on 8 March 1972 prior to the instrument's destruction.
- In 1818, Sir John Ross’s expedition made first contact with nomadic Polar Eskimos in the area.
- Thule Air Base is home to the 21st Space Wing's global network of sensors providing missile warning, space surveillance and space control to North American Aerospace Defense Command and Air Force Space Command.
- After liberation, Denmark ratified the Kauffmann treaty but began efforts to take over U.S.
- In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
- The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
- The furthest airport from Thule Air Base (THU) is Hobart International Airport (HBA), which is located 9,883 miles (15,905 kilometers) away in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
- In 1959, the airbase was the main staging point for the construction of Camp Century, some 150 mi from the base.